Several factors probably contributed to President G. H. W. Bush being a one-term President and the failure of Senator Dole's failure to become President. President Bush had health problems and the Read-My-Lips problem; Senator Dole was uninspiring. Both faced the problem of Ross Perot siphoning off Republican energy and probable voters. Another factor, common to both, was efforts by party operatives to diminish or cut off the influence of the "Religious Right" in the Republican party. Many Christians refused to sit in the back of the party bus while voting for the party's candidates.
Voices are being heard again in the Republican party that "Religious Right" needs to get out of politics. If the Republican party tries that road again the consequences will be similar, though probably worse, since many Christians have the sour memory of 1992 and 1996. It took 8 years of President Clinton for the Republicans to restore most of the damage done then; if this happens again, will Christians be as forgiving?
